Newspaper Page Text
March 19, 2008
PAGE 6A
■ Importer
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think our community is proud of where we’re
t. We’re an asset to our community and we
don’t want to go backwards.
- Superintendent Scott Cowart
and we
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We’ll reimburse them for lost car tag
revenue....and when we tell the public
how we’re trying to cap assessments, tt
know most people will say ‘amen broth
- State Rep. Jim Cole
Tax
continued from the front
It also does away with the
intangible tax, or the taxes
charged on property transfers,
and puts a cap of 5 percent on
how much local governments can
increase property assessments
each year.
Lawmakers say the plan will
put more money back in the
hands of taxpayers, thus stimu
lating a weak economy.
However, Monroe County lead
ers say it limits local control and
puts the squeeze on already tight
budgets.
Monroe County tax commis
sioner Patsy Miller says when
there are tax cuts in one place,
there are usually tax increases in
other areas.
“We have to pay somehow,” says
Miller. “You know they’re not
going to cut spending.”
The automobile ad valorem tax
is calculated much like property
taxes. Miller says on a $20,000
car the tax is about $202. Based
on their current millage rate, the
county gets about $89 of that
and the schools get $111. The
remaining $2 goes to the state.
The overall tax cut is estimated
around $700 million statewide.
“By doing away with the car
tag tax and the intangible tax,
Monroe County schools will lose
over $1.3 million a year,” said
school superintendent Scott
Cowart. “How do we get that mil
lion plus dollars back? We either
raise millage or cuts services.”
Cowart says Monroe County is
currently recognized as one of
the best school systems in the
state. He says he believes no one
in the community wants to see
services cut. He said the money
the state is planning to cut could
buy text books, more technology
for the classroom, school buses or
even help hire more teachers for
a growing county.
Cowart said the school board
and administration have proven
they are good stewards of the
money allotted for schools, but
the state continues to tie their
hands.
“We’re not talking about a
school system that’s underper
forming. I think our community
is proud of where we’re at. We’re
an asset to our community and
we don’t want to go backwards,”
said Cowart.
But State Rep. Jim Cole says
the plan calls for the state to
reimburse local governments for
any lost car tag revenues.
“We’re (the state) writing a
check back to them,” says Cole.
“In the amendment the state has
to make the local cities, county
governments and school boards
whole. We’ll reimburse them for
lost car tag revenue. That’s the
fallacy (that they would lose
money).”
But Cowart says the state has
a habit of promising to pay
money and then taking it back.
Since 2002 the state has with
held over $3.8 million from
Monroe County schools in aus
terity reductions because of
budget shortfalls. Cowart says
Monroe County taxpayers are
already paying more because the
state has been consistently
unable to fully fund its share of
the school budget.
“That’s money they were sup
posed to send and didn’t. That’s
money the taxpayers of Monroe
County had to pay because the
state didn’t send it, even though
they said they would,” said
Cowart. “So, if they’ve been with
holding that money every year,
where are they going to come up
with the money to send us this
million back?”
Assistant superintendent for
support services Jackson Daniel
says the state promised to pay
the $338,106 held back last year,
but just last week he received
word that it was cut again.
Over the last five years, the
Monroe County school system
has consistently paid more of the
school budget than the state.
“But, they want to limit our
ability to make local decisions
and give us less money,” said
Cowart.
County commission chairman
Harold Carlisle says he doesn’t
believe the county will ever see
any of the cut money.
“The state is going to send us
back the money? In your
dreams,” said Carlisle. “They
have never done that. We’re
going to have to find the money
somewhere. If we have to raise
the millage rate it’s going to
make us look like the bad guys.”
Cole says he has been in con
stant touch with the four school
superintendents in his district,
including Cowart, as the plan
continued to change and evolve.
He said school officials were
most concerned about a part of
the earlier bill which would have
capped the growth in local gover-
ment tax revenues. After that
was removed, he noted the plan
passed overwhelmingly, with
even most Democrats supporting
the tax cut. He said by capping
annual property tax assess
ments, local governments won’t
be able to raises taxes through
the back door by raising assess
ments on homes and property.
Cole said the assessment of his
own home in Forsyth has gone
up four of the last six years. He
noted that local governments
could use some fiscal discipline,
saying that most local govern
ments have been growing much
more than the rate of inflation in
recent years.
But Cowart says HR 1246 is
just one more way the state gov
ernment is taking control away
from local school boards.
“I’m not mad at one individual
or even one particular piece of
legislation,” said Cowart. “But,
there’s a pattern over the last
several years of our legislative
leaders making decisions limit
ing our ability to control the local
portions of our funding and how
we run the school system.”
Cowart says it started with the
65 percent rule two years ago
that dictated how schools had to
spend money and has continued
to snowball.
“Last year it was senate bill 10,
the special education voucher bill
that takes public money and
sends it to private school that
don’t have to play by the same
rules we do,” said Cowart. “They
don’t have the same accountabili
ty we do. They don’t have the
requirements for teachers, etc.”
This year, Cowart says there
are several bills that propose to
tell the local boards how they are
to do business.
“We are going to suffer as a
school system if this continues.
The county will suffer. Somehow
we have to pay. We may pay with
increased taxes or we may lose
as a school system,” says Cowart.
As for Cole, he said he has sug
gested holding a public forum
with school officials to discuss
the plan. Cole said school offi
cials could explain why they
don’t want the state to control
how fast government grows. And
he could tell voters about his
position to cap how fast assess
ments can grow and eliminate
the car tag tax. “When we tell
the public how we’re trying to
cap assessments, they know most
people will say ‘amen brother,”’
said Cole.
Cole said he is unsure what
will happen to the resolution in
the senate. It could undergo even
more changes. It must pass the
senate with a two-thirds majori
ty in order to stay alive. Gov.
Sonny Perdue has blasted the
plan as irresponsible, but he may
not have any say. If the resolu
tion does make it out of the
Senate, it will be up to the voters
of Georgia to decide. The plan
will then be on the ballot as a
referendum in November. If it
becomes law, by 2010 Georgians
would only pay $20 for a car tag,
$10 for the registration and $10
for a new program to fund trau
ma care units.
“Nobody likes to pay taxes, but
we must pay somehow, or the
kids lose,” says Cowart.
“Individually I believe people
mean well. But, as a whole, I
think the success of public edu
cation is potentially being under
mined by decisions being made
by people who may not take into
consideration the full conse
quence of their actions.”
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